Olympics: We're not just entertainment, we're humans, says Simone Biles

The American gymnast Simone Biles competed for the first time since the team event final in artistic gymnastics at Tokyo 2020, capturing a bronze medal in the balance beam - her seventh career Olympic medal on Tuesday.

Gold went to Chenchen Guan with Xijing Tang taking silver in a Chinese one-two.

"[The bronze] means more than all the golds because I've been through so much the last five years and the last week while I've even been here; it was just... it was very emotional," Olympics.com quoted Biles as a saying on NBC's Today Show. "And I'm just proud of myself and all of these girls as well."

 

"I didn't really care about the outcome," Biles added in regards to the beam final. "I was so happy that I made the routine and then I got to compete one more time."

This bronze win caps off Biles' 2020 Games, in which she took a stand for mental health by stepping aside during the team final, helping to cheer her team on to silver.

Talking about her experience and learning in Tokyo 2020, Biles stated the importance of mental health. "Definitely bringing a light to the conversation of mental health; it's something that people go through a lot that is kind of pushed under the rug," she told reporters after her beam event, as per Olympics.com. "I feel like we're not just entertainment, we're humans, as well, and we have feelings."

"After team final, we went to the village, and honestly I expected to feel a bit embarrassed and [athletes] were coming up to me saying how much I meant to them; how much I had done for their world. That was the craziest feeling ever. In that moment, I was like, 'There's more than gymnastics and medals.'"

Biles won five medals at Rio 2016, including individual all-around, team, vault, and floor golds, adding the team silver and beam bronze to her haul here.